§ 661. Management policies for joint qualified officers

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(a)Establishment.— The Secretary of Defense shall establish policies, procedures, and practices for the effective management of officers of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps on the active-duty list, and officers of the Space Force on the Space Force officer list, who are particularly trained in, and oriented toward, joint matters (as defined in section 668 of this title). Such officers shall be identified or designated (in addition to their principal military occupational specialty) as a joint qualified officer or in such other manner as the Secretary of Defense directs.

(b)Levels, Designation, and Numbers.—

(A)The Secretary of Defense shall establish different levels of joint qualification, as well as the criteria for qualification at each level. Such levels of joint qualification shall be established by the Secretary with the advice of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Each level shall, as a minimum, have both joint education criteria and joint experience criteria. The purpose of establishing such qualification levels is to ensure a systematic, progressive, career-long development of officers in joint matters and to ensure that officers serving as general and flag officers have the requisite experience and education to be highly proficient in joint matters.

(B)The number of officers who are joint qualified shall be determined by the Secretary of Defense, with the advice of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Such number shall be large enough to meet the requirements of subsection (d).

(2)Certain officers shall be designated as joint qualified by the Secretary of Defense with the advice of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

(3)An officer may be designated as joint qualified under paragraph

(2)only if the officer—

(A)meets the education and experience criteria of subsection (c);

(B)meets such additional criteria as prescribed by the Secretary of Defense; and

(C)holds the grade of captain or, in the case of the Navy, lieutenant or a higher grade.

(4)The authority of the Secretary of Defense under paragraph

(2)to designate officers as joint qualified may be delegated only to the Deputy Secretary of Defense or an Under Secretary of Defense.

(c)Education and Experience Requirements.—

(1)An officer may not be designated as joint qualified until the officer—

(A)successfully completes an appropriate program of joint professional military education, as described in subsections

(b)and

(c)of section 2155 of this title, at a joint professional military education school; and

(B)successfully completes—

(i)a full tour of duty in a joint assignment, as described in section 664(d) of this title; or

(ii)such other assignments and experiences in a manner that demonstrate the officer’s mastery of knowledge, skills, and abilities in joint matters, as determined under such regulations and policy as the Secretary of Defense may prescribe.

(2)Subject to paragraphs

(3)through (6), the Secretary of Defense may waive the requirement under paragraph (1)(A) that an officer has successfully completed a program of education, as described in subsections

(b)and

(c)of section 2155 of this title.

(3)In the case of an officer in a grade below brigadier general or rear admiral (lower half), a waiver under paragraph

(2)may be granted only if—

(A)the officer has completed two full tours of duty in a joint duty assignment, as described in section 664(d) of this title, in such a manner as to demonstrate the officer’s mastery of knowledge, skills, and abilities on joint matters; and

(B)the Secretary of Defense determines that the types of joint duty experiences completed by the officer have been of sufficient breadth to prepare the officer adequately for service as a general or flag officer in a joint duty assignment position.

(4)In the case of a general or flag officer, a waiver under paragraph

(2)may be granted only—

(A)under unusual circumstances justifying the variation from the education requirement under paragraph (1)(A); and

(B)under circumstances in which the waiver is necessary to meet a critical need of the armed forces, as determined by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

(5)In the case of officers in grades below brigadier general or rear admiral (lower half), the total number of waivers granted under paragraph

(2)for officers in the same pay grade during a fiscal year may not exceed 10 percent of the total number of officers in that pay grade designated as joint qualified during that fiscal year.

(6)There may not be more than 32 general and flag officers on active duty at the same time who, while holding a general or flag officer position, were designated joint qualified (or were selected for the joint specialty before October 1, 2007) and for whom a waiver was granted under paragraph (2).

(d)Number of Joint Duty Assignments.—

(1)The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that approximately one-half of the joint duty assignment positions in grades above major or, in the case of the Navy, lieutenant commander are filled at any time by officers who have the appropriate level of joint qualification.

(2)The Secretary of Defense, with the advice of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shall designate an appropriate number of joint duty assignment positions as critical joint duty assignment positions. A position may be designated as a critical joint duty assignment position only if the duties and responsibilities of the position make it important that the occupant be particularly trained in, and oriented toward, joint matters.

(A)Subject to subparagraph (B), a position designated under paragraph

(2)may be held only by an officer who—

(i)was designated as joint qualified in accordance with this chapter; or

(ii)was selected for the joint specialty before October 1, 2007.

(B)The Secretary of Defense may waive the requirement in subparagraph

(A)with respect to the assignment of an officer to a position designated under paragraph (2). Any such waiver shall be granted on a case-by-case basis. The authority of the Secretary to grant such a waiver may be delegated only to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff or a designee of the Chairman who is an officer of the armed forces in grade O–9 or higher.

(4)The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that, of those joint duty assignment positions that are filled by general or flag officers, a substantial portion are among those positions that are designated under paragraph

(2)as critical joint duty assignment positions.

(e)Career Guidelines.— The Secretary, with the advice of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shall establish career guidelines for officers to achieve joint qualification and for officers who have been designated as joint qualified. Such guidelines shall include guidelines for—

(1)selection;

(2)military education;

(3)training;

(4)types of duty assignments; and

(5)such other matters as the Secretary considers appropriate.

(f)Treatment of Certain Service.— Any service by an officer in the grade of captain or, in the case of the Navy, lieutenant in a joint duty assignment shall be considered to be service in a joint duty assignment for purposes of all laws (including section 619a of this title) establishing a requirement or condition with respect to an officer’s service in a joint duty assignment.

(Added Pub. L. 99–433, title IV, § 401(a), Oct. 1, 1986, 100 Stat. 1025; amended Pub. L. 100–180, div. A, title XIII, § 1301–1302(b), Dec. 4, 1987, 101 Stat. 1168, 1169; Pub. L. 100–456, div. A, title V, §§ 511, 512(a), 517(a), 518, Sept. 29, 1988, 102 Stat. 1968, 1971; Pub. L. 101–189, div. A, title XI, §§ 1113, 1122, Nov. 29, 1989, 103 Stat. 1554, 1556; Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title V, § 501(a), (d), title XV, § 1503(a)(6), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 290, 292, 511; Pub. L. 107–107, div. A, title V, § 521(a), Dec. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 1097;

Pub. L. 107–314, div. A, title V, § 502(c), title X, § 1062(a)(3), Dec. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 2530, 2649; Pub. L. 109–364, div. A, title V, § 516(a)–(e)(1), Oct. 17, 2006, 120 Stat. 2187–2189; Pub. L. 110–417, [div. A], title V, § 522(a)(1), (2), Oct. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 4444, 4445; Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title X, § 1081(a)(20), Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1595; Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title V, § 505, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1345; Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title IX, § 924(b)(1)(D), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3820;

Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title XVII, § 1722(c), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 670.)

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